Chapter Eight
Jenny
Sevenoaks, Kent
I thought we might die laughing from a kind of hysterical relief brought on by discovering Cassy’s love interest to be very wet behind the ears.
Far from finding a dashing hero in our cousin Lucius, he uttered very little to engage my sister’s heart, and even she had to admit to some disappointment.
Lucius may turn out to be handsome one day, and he may come into a fortune in the not too distant future, but he just spent the entire time looking furtively at us both, as he blushed with cheeks redder than mine.
He was also exceedingly cruel to the dog he brought with him on a leash - he was only young, the sweetest Newfoundland puppy and every time he yelped, our cruel cousin pulled on his collar in an attempt to make him quiet, which only had the reverse effect.
His brother Thomas objected strongly to this behaviour, I was glad to see, and removed the dog whenever he could.
By great contrast, Thomas seems much older than his brother, though he is younger - and just a little older than myself.
He is fair, in contrast to his dark-haired brother, and he talks of nothing but sport, which I like him for.
Thomas has an athletic build - he’s tall too, and loves riding to hounds, he told us, and playing cricket.
We all walked in the gardens after dinner, which was early, as usual.
I felt sorry for Cassy because Lucius stuck to her side like glue, though he didn’t speak.
Every now and then I caught him staring in a most ungentlemanly way, but my sister has such a pretty figure that I can almost forgive him for appreciating it.
I glared at him when I could to give him a taste of how it must feel - I could see how uncomfortable Cassy felt under such scrutiny.
I thought Thomas might be shocked when I told him how much I like cricket and how often I play with my brothers. Henry taught me everything I know, and he says there are not many who can bowl as well as I.
‘A girl who can play cricket?’ said Thomas in clear surprise. ‘Now, that’s not a common sight.’
‘No, I daresay in Sevenoaks you might never see such a thing, but I can assure you that in Steventon, it is an every day occurrence in the summer months.’
Thomas seemed to find this highly amusing judging by the expression on his face, but he was kind enough not to laugh at me.
‘You are a way from home in Hampshire … how do you like Kent?’ he asked, looking into my eyes. I’d never seen such vivid blue eyes before - they had a translucence about them that seemed to pierce into my mind. I knew I could not lie to him, I felt he knew my every thought.
‘I like it very well,’ I said, ‘everyone is rich here.’
That made him laugh. ‘I suppose you are referring to my grandfather … he is certainly well off, and a very generous man. But surely people in Hampshire are just as wealthy.’
‘I believe some of our neighbours …’ I began, and then stopped.
I didn’t want Thomas to think we were very poor, even if I knew my parents found it hard to make ends meet sometimes.
It felt very important that he should know how well respected my father is, but I couldn’t think quite how to say exactly what I wanted.
‘Well, yes … and being rich isn’t always measured by how much pewter one owns.
A poor man may be vastly well off in other ways …
rich in the love of his family, and beloved by his friends, esteemed by his neighbours who turn to him for advice … that sort of thing.’
I was floundering, and starting to babble, but Thomas butted in to change the subject before I let myself look very silly. I knew my face, which is always the colour of ripe tomatoes was burning, and I couldn’t do a thing about it.
‘Do you ride, Miss Jane?’
‘I do not often get the chance, I’m afraid. The horses are often needed on the farm or to pull my father’s carriage … but I admit, I would very much like a pony to ride. My brother Fly, or Frank, I should say, has one and he’s an excellent rider.’
‘Fly, did you say?’
‘Yes, on account of his buzzing about, and never sitting still for a minute, though Francis is his real name. He’s going to be a sailor so he won’t have much use for a pony at sea.
Frank will probably sell him for far more than he bought him …
he’s very clever and bold like that. He’s studying at the Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth just now. ’
‘I should think it an exciting life to be at sea, though I’ve a hankering for the army myself. My father wants me to go to Cambridge to gain my degree, and then see what I shall do, but my mind is made up.’
‘Frank was just the same; he always knew just what he wanted to do from being a very small boy. If I were a boy I’d run away and join him.’
‘And you wouldn’t be afraid of going to sea and fighting pirates or worse?’
‘Not at all! Why shouldn’t the fairer sex have a chance to prove themselves? Not all women are fine ladies, content only to sit and work on men’s shirts or run after them. They are rational creatures, and none of us expect to be in smooth waters all our days.’
‘So, you’d be an adventuress, would you, my little cousin?’
I drew myself up, knowing I was at least six inches inferior to him in height. He seemed to be laughing at me, and for a moment I despised him. If I were a boy he would not hold me in such contempt or laugh at me. I wanted to punch him on the nose.
‘I am as good as any man,’ I answered gazing back into those pellucid eyes that regarded me with great humour.
I thought he might laugh out loud, but he seemed to change his mind, and lowering his eyes for a second he became quite thoughtful.
When he looked up again, he studied my face quite intently for a while, and I thought I should not be able to hold his gaze.
And then he spoke. ‘I can see that you are, Miss Jane, as good as any man that ever lived.’
We didn’t get another chance to talk as my parents caught us up, and Cassy found my side once more.
It was only when we came to bed that I had an opportunity to ask her what she thought of the brothers, and I discovered, to no great surprise, that she thought the same as I did.
Though Cassy would never be unkind about anyone, and she always seems to find a good word for the most unlikely character.
‘I think perhaps Lucius was rather shy,’ she began, ‘and he was just trying to show off with the little dog. He clearly feels inadequate to his brother, who I must add seems a little more promising. What did you think?’
‘I quite agree with you on the subject of Thomas, but I cannot like his brother. You must have seen the way Lucius was ogling at you, and even your kind disposition surely cannot defend or excuse such behaviour!’
We exchanged glances, and even though Cassy was trying her hardest to be grave and thoughtful, she couldn’t keep it up. We both fell on her bed in fits of laughter.
‘I really thought I must have spilt plum sauce on my lace.’
‘It’s Mama’s fault for insisting you’re laced so tightly …
never mind, we’ll think of something else next time, and you must stop being quite so sweet and alluring …
no man can resist you, even if the “man” in question is hardly more than a boy.
At least Thomas has a tongue in his head and is quite handsome, though perhaps not in a conventional way. ’
‘Jenny, do I detect some partiality? Can this be the same girl who declares she will never fall in love with the opposite sex.’
‘It is, indeed, and on that point, my mind is unchanged. I like Thomas because he is a sportsman and wants to go into the army. If only girls could do likewise. Think of the places we could see, the lands we could visit. Oh, it is so unfair!’
‘Unjust it may be, but I do not share your opinion. I should not like wearing breeches, nor should I like to fight. You cannot really mean that you would be a soldier, Jenny.’
‘I could not kill anyone, that is true, but I envy our brothers being able to go off and out into the world. We will never have the chance to do the same, and sometimes the thought of being trapped at home or being married to a man whom I shall not love is unbearable to me.’
‘You are a funny one, little Jenny.’
‘And that’s another thing - I’m no longer little Jenny to be amused by, and poked fun at - I’m growing up.
Thomas had the courtesy to call me “Miss Jane”, and, as it’s my rightful name I shall start using it myself.
Woe betide anyone who cannot do the same - indeed, I shall refuse to answer to any but the name given to me at birth in future - I am quite decided. ’
‘And are you ready for all the other responsibilities that go hand in hand with growing up?’ my sister asked. ‘Are you able to put aside childish games and running round? Will you stop playing battledore and baseball or prevent yourself from rolling down any green slope that takes your fancy?’
I sighed heavily. I knew Cassy was only repeating what my mother had impressed on me a hundred times before, and though growing into a lady is a fate I cannot forgo entirely, I know eventually even I will be unable to stem its fast approaching inevitability.
***